Nigeria organizes its first digital trade hackathon to harness AfCFTA benefits for small businesses.
Africa’s first AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol Hackathon was held in Nigeria, bringing together trade experts, researchers, and tech innovators to develop workable solutions for trade impediments that impact small enterprises and the unorganized sector.
Taking place in Lagos as part of the 2025 Science of Trade (SOT) Conference, the event centered on leveraging innovation to address persistent trade challenges such inadequate logistics, gaps in infrastructure, complex documentation, and lack of product certification.
According to Olusegun Olutayo, a senior trade specialist at the Nigerian AfCFTA Coordination Office, the hackathon’s goals were to overcome the digital divide that affects millions of African traders and SMEs and inspire indigenous solutions to actual trade problems.
Olutayo stated, “This is about more than policy.” “We’re developing tools that address practical issues, such as facilitating digital payments, market access, and financing for unorganized enterprises.”
In addition to highlighting the significance of platforms like the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), which permits cross-border transactions in local currencies and eliminates the need to convert naira to dollars for trade with other African nations, he said the event focused on seven major trade barriers.
Nigeria is focusing on intra-African trade under the AfCFTA framework, looking to cut costs and develop new markets for local enterprises. Olutayo noted that a dedicated research budget will help scale the winning solutions from the hackathon.
